Ditch the name, Redskins
By Alex Tichenor
After years of debate, it is time for Washington to pick a new team title
How are we still talking about this?
It is 2014, and the Washington Redskins are still a team. There has been an ongoing argument for the past few years over whether the name is offensive toward Native Americans, with very inconclusive results. Every poll says something different. Every story of word origin is different. To put it in football terms, there is inconclusive evidence.
But since when is 100 percent agreement needed to make a change for the better?
Overplayed — Washington Redskins name still raises eyebrows. Google Images
Even somebody in support of not changing the name has to admit that Redskins is not a very good name to begin with. If somebody brought up “Redskins” as a potential team name in 2014, they would
be laughed right out of the room.
Or fired out of the room.
The worst reason for anything is “that is the way it has always been.” We would still be riding around on horseback with that attitude. Instead, we have airplanes. And that is the only argument on which supporters of the Redskins name have to stand.
Washington sports fans have already dealt with one of their teams changing names — the Bullets were renamed the Wizards in 1997 — so changing again should not be a big issue. Syracuse also recently changed its nickname from the Orangemen to the Orange, and somehow, the world is still spinning.
Yes, other Native American team nicknames exist, but most of those teams are named after a specific tribe. While it is unclear if “Redskins” is an offensive term or not, it is surely not the best way to honor Native Americans.
The biggest problem with Native American team nicknames is that they further perpetuate stereotypes that Native Americans have spent decades upon decades trying to shed. Florida State Seminoles football and basketball games consist of a constant combination of a cacophonic “war chant” and “tomahawk chop.” I have been around plenty of Native Americans, and I can confidently say none of them have ever burst out in some kind of war chant.
There are still Native American traditions that are followed. In fact, most are very proud of their heritage, as they should be. But the images that many sports teams show are ideas originating from a much more racist era of history in the United States. Just a few generations ago, people used to play a game called “Cowboys and Indians,” where Native Americans were the bad guys. Yeah, the group that was forced out of their homeland and in some cases killed was the real bad guy.
Many teams named after Native Americans were named when those stereotypes were still thriving. It is not that a representation of Native Americans is necessarily bad, but the misrepresentation is what makes it bad.
Back to Washington specifically. There is no reason for the team to keep the name at this point. Many media outlets are boycotting the term “Redskins,” and there is a large public outcry for a name change. While I do not believe those are valid reasons for every kind of change, they are perfectly valid in this case. This is not a matter of if. It is a matter of when.
Still, ’Skins owner Dan Snyder has been stubborn to the point of spending money on advertising and studies in support of the name, even though he would most likely stand to financially gain from a name change with all of the new merchandise that would flood the market. Even he should realize the need to
change the name.
Please, Mr. Snyder, do not make me write any more words on this topic. It is high time for a change.
Tichenor is the sports editor.
I disagree with this article and think that Liberty has more important things to report about then NFL team name changes. Native Americans across the country are not upset about the name at all. The name is about honor and represents a warrior, a Native American even designed the logo. Maybe some fact checking needs to be done before someone is allowed to write a piece in the Champion. As an alumni I am sad to see this in the Champion. This is a perfect example of how the media has taken a name that has been the name for over 4 decades and changed everyone’s views towards it. As a nation, and as a nation who loves sports there are far more pressing issues at had than the Redskins team name. No one has been offended by it until recently and it is media brainwashing at it’s finest, this being an example, that is causing people to be offended by it now.
As a former sports editor of the Liberty Champion I am ashamed. Mr. Tichenor and his sophomore style of writing contains numerous misleading assumptions. Please reference one legitimate poll that supports your implication that the name Redskins is insulting and should be changed. Just reference me one. And your so-called reference to a huge public outcry is straight from the playbook of the revisionists who would have folks believe that “Redskins” was an OK word until the late 1890s, when it was highjacked by the White Man to use in a mean way. This is simply not true. In fact, research reveals that the name Redskins has been used predominantly as a positive word throughout the 20th Century. So the entire so-called controversy is a made-up lie. Most Native Americans are not even offended by the nickname. Maybe Mr. Tichenor enjoys puppeting the same jibberish that revisionists love the regurgitate. Those same revisionists are the ones who wrongfully insists that America and its forefathers did not found this country based on the Christian doctrine. Mr. Tichenor, do your readers a favor and grow up.
You showed the weakness of your argument in one sentence.
“While it is unclear if “Redskins” is an offensive term or not, it is surely not the best way to honor Native Americans.”
Not your team, not your money, not your business. The pushback against the team’s name is not even being led by Native Americans, but by politicians in Washington. A large majority of Americans do not believe the name to be offensive either, as written by the Washington Post here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/new-poll-says-large-majority-of-americans-believe-redskins-should-not-change-name/2014/09/02/496e3dd0-32e0-11e4-9e92-0899b306bbea_story.html
A minority opinion has no right to call for action on moral grounds by a company they have no financial stake in. If you don’t like the product, don’t support it. It’s that simple.
Like Brittany mentioned, very upset at the lack of fact checking for this article. This paper used to be more than just a student regurgitating what they watched on MSNBC the night before..
The only problem I see with this article is that it is painfully obvious. Of course the Redskins should change their name. Of course referencing polls and the Native Americans who are actively campaigning to change this name is superflous at this point because they have become so varying and widespread. Bottom line: it’s a racially insensitive team name. Bravo, Mr. Tichenor.
I think this article raises some good points. Most of the people defending the name are not Native Americans. They can not understand how harmful the derogatory connotations associated with name are to some people because they have never faced the persecution that Native Americans once faced.
People like to keep things the same because of tradition, even if the tradition itself is horrible. Sometimes in order for progress to be made change needs to happen.
I was hoping this article was satirical. Unfortunately, it ended up just being stupid. The fact we’re even talking about this is nauseating. I am Native American and the only thing offensive about this whole discussion is people trying to tell myself and other Native Americans that we should be offended by this..
There are a lot of reasons they should keep this name, one is they have a trademark on, and would cost MILLIONS to re brand everything. I’m still a little shocked someone actually thought this article worthy of publishing. I personally think the name and brand is awesome. You make a lot of assumptions and absolutes that honestly you aren’t qualified to make.